


In Defeat and In Victory

by TwistedWillows



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU in that they're adults and Hawkmoth is no longer an issue, AU-ish?, Adult Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, also they're married, no spoilers though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:34:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23659189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwistedWillows/pseuds/TwistedWillows
Summary: Just a tiny little one shot.When he was younger, being Chat Noir was all fun and games. But a funny thing happens when you get older, when suddenly you have more things to lose. For Chat Noir, that thing is Ladybug.In a moment of crisis, Adrien reaffirms a promise he and Marinette have made to each other.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 2
Kudos: 78





	In Defeat and In Victory

Chat Noir sat on the wide dome of Mont Martre, silently staring out over the uneven contours of the blue shingle rooftops of Paris. In his head, an imaginary second hand ticked precious minutes away.

38 hours. It had been 38 hours.

His clawed fingers flexed on the staff under his feet: extending, retracting, flexing to the forced – steady rhythm of his heartbeat. His eyes traced every tiny sound from the rooftop to the horizon, from one green-tinged corner of his vision to the other, missing nothing.  
They were careful, so extremely careful. Every end of a battle, every time they went home, every door with a second lock and security system, saying nothing of the lives they lived to anyone. But the thing was, it didn’t matter if you were careful, no matter how closely you watched or covered verbal tracks. Even magic could only protect them so far. There was always someone who dug deeper. Someone who might know, always some overly interested reporter or ambitious commuter watching on the bus. Someone who doesn’t believe you got lost in the chaos of fleeing bystanders or doubts that you really had to run out and give your uncle that bag right before that supervillain attack– so they were careful, but they also knew every moment that the enemy could be around, much more sinister than Hawkmoth had been, whose motivations have nothing to do with love.

38 hours. He ignored the statistics running through his head.

The light tap of boots let him know that he wasn’t alone. He acknowledged Rena’s presence without moving.  
“The situation is not good, Chat.” Rena didn’t waste time with useless platitudes. It was one of the things Chat appreciated about her. “They’re sending police into the sewers.” She came to crouch down next to him. Fatigue carved deep lines around her face.  
“Carapace?” Chat asked. Rena shook her head.  
“Everyone’s looking.” She said. “Trouble is they haven’t found anything yet.“ Chat Noir nodded once. He inhaled deeply with a gust of wind and exhaled again. Rena lowered herself further down beside him, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her chin atop them. Chat could sense her eyes were still pointed in his direction. He never looked away from the sky.  
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng is also missing.” She said softly, looking directly at the side of his face. Chat Noir finally met her gaze then, saying nothing. His eyes were empty as glass. ”We are going to have to make a press statement soon.” She said.  
Chat shook his head, the corner of his mouth pulling down as he pushed away the thought that _yes, that’s exactly what they should do – that it had been 39 hours and they should be screaming it from every rooftop-_  
“No,” he said, “wait as long as you can.” Things like that were how this happened. How someone connected the dots. How people who happened to know the right people at the right time wondered at the odds of two raven-haired girls missing in Paris at the same time. Not just the same time but _every_ same time. 

How villains saw an opportunity, and how very many people got hurt.

39 hours. 39 hours since she had left their apartment- « I’ll be back, minou ! » He’d have held her, have begged her not to go if only he had known how long it would be before he would see her again.  
Rena stood suddenly, her long coattails nearly brushing the roof. She placed a firm hand on his shoulder.  
“Don’t lose hope in our girl. She’s tough. She’ll make it through.” With that, Rena disappeared over the rooftop.

The late afternoon sun was beginning to dip slowly lower in the Parisian sky, washing the rooftops in a warm glow and reflecting off of the antennas. Normally, a beautiful sight like that reminded him of late-night stakeouts with his lady and dinner they shared over glasses of wine. Right now was just a reminder of the ever ticking clock approaching the 40th hour.  
He had never known all those years ago, stuck like a prisoner in his bedroom, that he could come to love this place. A place that for so long had been his massive gilded jail cell.

That he could be free both as Chat Noir and as himself, or that the dorky teenage girl he fell in love with could grow up to be such a beautiful woman. That she would hold out her hand and show him that he was capable of freeing himself, if he could only find the courage to do it.  
Suddenly there was static over his earpiece and a garbled transmission tumbled in.  
« Chat Noir— » it was Carapace. « — found- Ladybug! » He was on his feet sprinting before he even knew where to go. « Rue- Dupo- 13th arrondissement ! Some crazy— has her! He’s demanding to see you ! »  
« Tell him I’ll be right there. » _Whether he’s ready for me or not._ « Chat out. »

As he raced along the rooftops of Paris, panic and adrenaline pumping through his veins, he repeated his promise in his head like a mantra; I’m coming, milady, I’m coming.

There are certain things they lose, living these lives, and more things by living them together. Perhaps it would be easier for them if they gave it all up. If they were a normal husband and a normal wife. Maybe they’d be okay with that. But Paris – his city – was where he grew up. He pushed boats down her waters and fell asleep to her night song; he fell in love under her streetlights, and he knew Ladybug felt the same way, too.

Today, she was safe. Today she was found and he kissed her face and cried and held her close in his arms. He let it be enough to know that she was safe. That she was home.  
Because their life was never certain, and he knew there may come a day when she was not. And while he and Marinette fought to protect their city, he fought twice as hard to prevent that day.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what I'm doing with my life. It's week something of quarantine and my housemate and I are eating cookies. I honestly haven't thought about this show in years and then I sit down and write this. 
> 
> So... hi I'm not dead... I guess?


End file.
